Puppy questions again

TnMtngirl · #1 02/09/05, 07:18 AM

They are 3 weeks old today,last night my DH & son mashed up some canned dog food and they ate it.is it possiable to wean them this early? they are still nursing.I will see if they will drink water from a pan today.I got some worm med from the vet yesterday and gave the first dose,will do again in 10 days.
Where is the best place to buy one of those igloo dog houses?I need to put them on the deck outside ,the whining is getting on my nerves.They are worse than babies and keeping me up all night.The mama wont stay with them very long at a feeding so I wonder if they are getting enough milk this is her first litter and she isnt a year old herself.Mary

moonwolf · #2 02/09/05, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TnMtngirl

They are 3 weeks old today,last night my DH & son mashed up some canned dog food and they ate it.is it possiable to wean them this early? they are still nursing.I will see if they will drink water from a pan today.I got some worm med from the vet yesterday and gave the first dose,will do again in 10 days.
Where is the best place to buy one of those igloo dog houses?I need to put them on the deck outside ,the whining is getting on my nerves.They are worse than babies and keeping me up all night.The mama wont stay with them very long at a feeding so I wonder if they are getting enough milk this is her first litter and she isnt a year old herself.Mary

3 weeks is too early to get them seriously on meat diet.
I started my puppies gradually with a mix of pablum and milk at that age for at least a week or two before gradually adding much of canned food. Give this 2 or 3 times a day and more often as they get older. At about 5 or 6 weeks then I moved away from pablum and into soaked kibble with mixed puppy canned food (fine). They need to nurse off the bitch as much as possible also up to weaning time at 8 weeks.

Cindy in KY · #3 02/09/05, 08:59 AM

Did you trim their nails? The moms won't want to stay with them if the toenails scratch them. I trim mine every wk from 2 wks old. They are really sharp. I use a people toenail clipper. I start my pups on soaked puppy food at 3wks, I mix in a bit of canned puppy food. They are eating really good by 4 wks, three times a day. Then about 5 wks, I keep feeding them the warm meals, but also put a big pan of dry puppy food in with them, so they can nibble on crunchies and get used to dry. I wean my moms by 6 wks, as I don't want their bags to get so big as it's a problem. Is the moms bags soft? No hardness?

Trim their nails and see if the mom will stay with them, at least nurse them and empty out her bags 4 times a day, then gradually less and less. I have weaned them at 5 wks, when there were too many, or I didn't want them to nurse on mom anymore. Did they stop crying after you fed them? They usually only cry if they are too hot, too cold, hungry, etc. I give a puppy shot at 4 wks, (progard puppy) and Vanguard Plus 5 at 6 wks. Remember 10 days off the moms milk, they will loose their protection from the mom, so need shots before that 10 days is over. If they are outside, that little, without mom in there with them, there is nothing to protect them from cats, skunks, etc. Skunks can smell puppies & kittens. Sorry, but I really worry about skunks all the time. They are bad. Petsmart has the best prices on those crates & houses.

Patty0315 · #4 02/09/05, 10:58 AM

Get a good quality dry puppy food. Soak it in hot water until soft. Offer this 3-4 times daily. Pups need there Mom still and until they are sold at 8 weeks. They learn alot from her. I would also let her choose when to wean them. By giving them dog food you will take alot of the stress of her.The problem with putting them outside is they are not protected, they will not get the human interaction they also need.

Nice post Cindy.

januaries · #5 02/09/05, 02:48 PM

My puppies are 6 weeks old today. I introduced them to semi-solid food at 2 1/2 weeks because mom-dog didn't have patience with their nursing. (I tried clipping their nails, but it didn't help.) I made a warm gruel of cottage cheese, egg, evaporated milk, and water and fed them twice a day. It took them a couple days to figure out how to eat it. At 3 weeks, I introduced quality dry puppy food that had been soaked in water overnight, combining it with evaporated milk and egg or cottage cheese (always warming the food before giving it). I didn't give them water separately because I made the food itself very, very wet. I've been feeding them dry food for about a week now. I checked to make sure they all had good sets of teeth before giving them the dry stuff, and introduced it as a "side" dish while still giving the wet food. They didn't have any trouble switching to dry. Now I feed and water them three times a day, giving them a 30 minute play-time outside (with mom) each time.

Besides crying when they're hungry, hot, or cold, they may cry when they want attention. At least, mine do--they're very vocal and stubborn. They make a lot of noise as soon as I put them back in their kennel after play-time, or whenever mom-dog leaves the kennel or pokes her head in to check on them, but they usually settle down after 15 minutes or so. If yours are crying all night long, it may be that they're hungry or cold. Your deck may be very protected and safe for puppies; I don't know. Just be careful. Puppies that age can't control their body temps and so rely on external sources of heat. If you put them outside, it's a good idea to make the area especially sheltered and safe. And you will have to be intentional about spending quality time with them. Personally, I like being able to hear them so I can monitor what's going on and know if there's an emergency of any kind.

Hank - Narita · #6 02/09/05, 10:27 PM

We got our dog houses from Walmart; the ones with the blue roofs; not the igloo type. Friend said she liked those better. Another friend was able to wean her 2 pups at 5 weeks but definitely not before then. Keep them out of drafts and they can stay together to keep warm. You might add shavings too.